Hong Kong and Macao Office expansion to strengthen national security Liu Ruishao: more political needs than practical

Recently, it is rumored that the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) State Council will expand its establishment by adding two new divisions for national security and information. Hong Kong’s senior commentator Liu Ruishao believes it is more a political need than a practical one, foreseeing that it will further strengthen the control over Hong Kong.

Earlier, the pro-establishment media Sing Tao Daily obtained news that the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office is planning to establish two divisions, one related to the maintenance of national security and one related to propaganda and culture, the former will be headed by Wang Zhenmin, a professor at Tsinghua University Law School and former head of the legal department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong.

At present, the HKMAO has seven departments and bureaus: Secretary and Administration Division, General Division, Political Research Division, Liaison Division, Communication Division, Legal Division, and Party Committee of the Organ (Personnel Division). If the two divisions are completed, there will be nine divisions.

It is rumored that Wang Zhenmin, a professor at Tsinghua University Law School and former head of the legal department of the Liaison Office, will be the director of the “safeguarding national security” category. The Information Division will be headed by Yang Guang, who has been the spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in the past.

Liu Ruishao, a senior commentator in Hong Kong who is familiar with Chinese affairs, said that in the past he had stressed not to think that after the adoption of the Fourth Plenary Session in 2019, Beijing would be able to implement all the deployments in Hong Kong in a year and a half: “That is to say, it has set a lot of plans, maybe half of the implementation, it feels that it is not enough to continue to increase the code, so this policy of governance of Hong Kong in a comprehensive and firm grasp, we look at the past In the past year, 2 years, in fact, has not been fully implemented in the eyes of Beijing’s firm governance.”

Liu Ruishao described the expansion of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office is only a “child’s play”: “We look at since the Fourth Plenary Session, the so-called perfect election system, all control, the Legislative Council smashed, then from the anti-sending (anti-revision) began, a group of people were arrested. Now to move some not to have action but speech, peaceful expression, it has to move.” Even if Beijing feels the need to do a major re-registration of voters in Hong Kong, to investigate whether they hold BNO, whether they have dual citizenship? Are they loyal to the Chinese government? Even restrictions on leaving the country and so on.

Liu Ruishao believes that the news of the expansion of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office is deliberately flowing out of the news, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office to set up additional departments to maintain national security, in fact, there is already the Office of State Security in Hong Kong, the police force below and a National Security Agency: “It so much firmly grasp the issue of national security in Hong Kong, here it shows that in the eyes of Beijing, it believes that in these few years of foreign forces, external forces, Hong Kong anti official forces, has not been able to get complete control.”

Liu Ruishao said that the expansion of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office is “more of a political need than a practical one”, not really a national security problem in Hong Kong, but the authorities want to create such an atmosphere as an excuse for their future actions: “We can see from the outside that national security has been firmly grasped is no problem, there is no immediate harm problem, but From the official point of view must create an atmosphere, that atmosphere tells you that now Hong Kong is very affected by national security, in order to create a justification for future action.”

He revealed that he often speaks to some “friends”, advising them that there are two things not to do, that is, good people. First, don’t do the plus-size faction “is the top of the 80-point order, you will push push push to 100 points, 200 points of force to implement. You do not do plus size pie, I think you are a good person. . Second, do not come out of the shit bridge (bad idea) “that is, the top has a purpose, but he can not think of how to do, then you help him think about how to do how to do is possible.”

As for the news division, not a new department, just reorganization. Liu Ruishao pointed out that the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office was established when there is already responsible for publicity, liaison department. Now the news division is responsible for Yang Guang, this person in Hong Kong during the anti-sending China had criticized the Hong Kong thugs, unrest in a press conference.

Liu Ruishao said: “So the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office was established, in fact, the overall cooperation with a firm grasp of Hong Kong people’s head of a practice. Of course, we are estimating it after the further suppression of the media in Hong Kong? The answer to the question is the degree of suppression is just how. Will certainly continue to increase the size.”